Light in the Dark
by termhn
Summary: A fan's *unofficial* continuation of Guiding Light, a League of Legends fan fiction. I highly recommend you read that one before reading this, so that everything makes sense. Riven x Lux. T for now, may turn M later. No smut but fluff and suggestive themes are highly likely.
1. Chapter 1

This story continues where Guiding Light left off. This first chapter is really just a prologue, a filler while I waited for the author of Guiding Light to give me the go-ahead, which they since have.

* * *

Lux closed the door and locked it. She lingered for a while, just listening to the other woman's light breaths. Eventually, she pried herself away and headed towards her brother's room.

She sighed heavily and silently cursed her duties. Lux would have liked nothing more than to turn around and return to Riven's side. However, she kept going, knowing that wasn't possible. Her mind strayed while her body was on autopilot, guiding her through the familiar halls of the Institue of War. She racked her brain, trying to remember exactly what this meeting was about. Giving up, she resigned herself to finding out when she got there.

When she arrived at Garen's room, she heard slightly muffled voices arguing inside. Lux pressed her ear to the door, straining to hear.

"We can't allow this to continue!" said one of them in a toxic tone, "It is unthinkable, a Demacian noble in a relationship with a Noxian? Despicable!"

Another, calmer voice replied, "You need to remember that not everyone is the same. You are different from your sister just as Riven is different from many Noxians."

Lux's heart began to beat faster.

"Do not allow your hate for Noxus to cloud your judgement, Garen," the voice continued. "This is not about you, it is about your sister."

Lux swore her heart was beating so fast that the people in the other room would be able to feel it through the ground. Jarvan arrived, probably for the same reason Lux had, and raised his eyebrow at Lux. She was standing frozen in front of the door, sweat visible on her forehead.

"I had expected better judgement from you, Lee Sin," said Garen's voice angrily. "Perhaps you do not understand the relationship between our two city states, being the blind monk you are. Get out of my room and don't come back until you change your mind."

The door opened moments later and almost hit Lux. She let out a small screech and jumped back, narrowly avoiding it. Lee Sin paused, noticing Lux in the doorway. He grimaced and laid a hand on her shoulder, squeezing lightly. Lux froze, not sure how to react. Saying nothing, Lee walked away, leaving Lux to ponder the encounter.

Garen cleared his throat, bringing both Lux and Jarvan's attention to him. He rose his arm towards his room, signalling them to enter. Lux glanced over at Jarvan and saw he had a confused look on his face, and that he was staring at her. She quickly looked away, making sure not to make eye contact with Garen either.

Garen's room was as she remembered it. A small kitchen took up the left side of the area, while his bedroom was on the right. A small living area seperated the two, which had a coffee table surrounded by a couch and a few chairs. Lux decided to occupy one of the chairs, slowly lowering herself into it.

Garen sat opposite of her, while Jarvan casually reclined on the couch, looking amused at the two siblings.

Garen sighed. "How much of that did you hear?"

Lux shrugged, still avoiding eye contact. "Enough."

"So you know my opinion," came Garen's stern reply.

Lux nodded half-heartedly.

"What exactly are we talking about?" Jarvan questioned. "I heard only the end."

Garen smiled coyly and said, "My dearest sister seems to have developed… feelings, shall we say, for a Noxian woman."

Lux kept her eyes on the floor, not wanting to confront her brother.

"Would I know said Noxian woman?" Questioned Jarvan.

"Yes, I suppose you would," said Garen, "her name is Riven."

Jarvan squinted, "The newest champion to the League?"

"Yes." Was Garen's reply.

Jarvan frowned slightly and addressed Lux, a look of concern on his face. "What do you see in her?" He questioned.

Lux frowned herself, thinking.

"She's the only one that understands me. We are opposites, but at the same time equal. She understands my pain, like nobody else ever has. At the same time, I feel the need to help her with her burden, which is much heavier than mine." Came Lux's reply. Very softly, she added "And nothing you can say will ever change that."

* * *

A/N hello! Thank you for getting this far and reading the first chapter. I hope you enjoyed it! Kind of short, but that is on purpose until I get a reply from Guiding Light's author to make sure this is okay. :) Update should be coming soon as I'm on summer break.

Oh, and please review! Thanks!


	2. Chapter 2

Lux strode through the halls of the Institute of War on the way to her room. The meeting had been uneventful after her little explanation. Garen had only nodded and stared at her for a while. Lux was surprised that he hadn't berated her or anything and wondered if he was planning something, but decided she would take the small victory and not worry too much about it.

The rest of the time had been spent planning for Prince Jarvan's birthday festivities. While Lux always forced on a bubbly and outgoing attitude at public parties, she secretly despised them. Too many misinformed, love-struck people all wanting a piece of her time.

Arriving at her room, she opened the door and stepped into her little corner of the Institute of War. Most prominently sat a large two-piece sofa and loveseat, flanked by a kitchen on the left and her bedroom on the right.

Connected to her bedroom was a small bathroom and shower. Deciding that a shower sounded like a good idea, she quickly started the water and stripped down. She stepped into the scalding water - just as she liked it - and immediately felt her mind and body start to relax.

She just stood there for a while, letting the water run over her body. She tried to imagine all of her worries as chunks of dirt on her body and let the water wash them away too.

This was a technique she had used since she was a small child. The shower had been her one escape from the scrutinizing eyes of her parents, her mentors, and the public. Here, she need not put on any mask or artificial attitude.

She looked down at her hands and found her fingers had already started to prune. Sighing, she knew she couldn't remain in the shower the rest of the day and quickly washed her body and hair.

Stepping out of the shower, she hard a knock on the door. *Odd,* she thought, *I rarely get any visitors.*

Quickly wrapping a towel around herself, she walked to the door and opened it. There stood Riven, who raised an eyebrow at Lux's current clothing.

"Catch you at a bad time?" She asked.

"I-I, uh, just got out of the shower," stammered Lux, who felt a blush coming to her cheeks. "Please, come in."

Riven smiled and did so, looking around her to survey Lux's small space.

"Let me go get dressed. Feel free to help yourself to whatever's in the kitchen and make yourself at home." Lux smiled and left Riven to herself, going into her bedroom and closing the door.

She strode around her bed to her dresser on the far side of the room. Opening the top drawer, she selected a pair of casual white gym shorts and a light forest green t-shirt. In the second drawer she extracted a set of underwear.

She dropped her towel and dressed then walked into her bathroom. She hastily brushed out her hair, leaving it to dry in the air. She generally didn't like blow-drying her hair, instead preferring to let it dry naturally.

Satisfied, she walked out through her bedroom and opened the door to her living area. Stepping through the doorway, she noticed Riven reclining on the loveseat. Smiling to herself, Lux crossed the room and stood next to her friend and lover.

Noticing her partner's soft and even breathing, she whispered, "Riven? Are you awake?"

Riven's lack of response confirmed her suspicion. Still smiling, Lux sat down on the arm of the chair and softly pushed Riven's bangs off her face. _You must have been really tired,_ she thought to herself, _or else you're just really good at falling asleep._ Lux herself had been one of those people that could not fall asleep within thirty minutes of laying down unless she was tired as a rock. She sat like this for a few minutes, content to just stroke the other woman's hair and observe her sleeping form.

Eventually, she leaned down and placed a soft kiss on Riven's forehead before standing up once again to re-position herself. Very slowly, making sure that she didn't wake the other woman, she lowered herself into the chair against Riven's side. Snuggling into her chest, Lux placed Riven's arms around her in a silent embrace and curled up in the little space the chair offered. Lux smiled to herself, thinking about how utterly surreal it was to be in this position, with the woman of her dreams.

_Speaking of dreams,_ she thought to herself, _why don't we get some rest._ Lux was sound asleep in less than five minutes.

**~~0~~**

When Riven woke some hours later, she found herself being squished into the side of the chair by something. Groggily opening her eyes, Riven looked down and found a mop of blonde hair cascading over her. Riven heard her stomach growl and giggled, realizing how hungry she was. It must have been at least seven or eight at night by now, past her usual dinner time.

Attempting to extract herself from the embrace, she ended up waking the offending party, who was apparently a light sleeper. Lux lifted her head and Riven couldn't help but smile when she saw the groggy look on Lux's face.

"You look just a bit tired there, camper," she teased. "Did you not sleep well?"

With more sincerity than Riven expected, Lux smiled and said, "I've never slept better, love."

Riven's stomach growled loudly again and Lux laughed, pushing herself up to encase Riven's lips with her own. Their kiss lasted a few seconds before Lux pulled away and said, "A bit hungry there, are we? Let's see what we can do about that."

With that, Lux pushed herself off of Riven and walked into the kitchen. Riven fell back into the chair, not really wanting to get up, but was soon forced too because of her need to use the restroom. Reluctantly rising from the chair, she crossed the room to where Lux's bedroom was and opened the door. She stepped into the new room and surveyed the area. It was a small space, the same as hers, with just enough room for a bed, a dresser, and a little chair opposite the bed. There were few decorations in the room, the main ones being a Demacian flag and a picture of her as a child hanging on the wall. She walked over to Lux's dresser to inspect more closely and noticed a few pictures on display. There was one of the entire Crownguard family when Lux was a child, one of who Riven assumed was Lux's mother because of her striking resemblance, and another of Lux and her Brother garen from not too long ago, both dressed in their battle attire, the same clothes they wore on the Fields of Justice.

She then moved into the bathroom, which was entirely undecorated. _It is odd,_ Riven mused as she sat on the toilet, _to not have any decorations at all in the bathroom. Most I've seen have at least a piece of art opposite the toilet. Perhaps Lux just isn't one for decoration._

When she was done, Riven walked into the kitchen. Lux was busy cooking something on the stove on the opposite side of the small kitchen. Riven strode up behind her, her bare footfalls silent on the tile. She snaked her arms around Lux's waist as to not inhibit the woman's ability to cook and rested her chin on the shorter woman's shoulder.

"Whatcha making?" She asked quietly, practically whispering into Lux's ear. She felt Lux shiver slightly as her breath made contact with Lux's ear.

"Nothing fancy, just some Mac 'n Cheese," said Lux, "comfort food sounded good to me, and I didn't really want to go to the mess hall tonight."

"Mh, sounds good to me too."

Riven watched as Lux stirred around the contents of the pot in front of her one more time before setting down her cooking spoon and turning around in Riven's embrace. Tilting her head up, Lux placed a soft kiss on Riven's lips before settling into her chest.

"I still don't believe it some times," said Lux softly into Riven's chest.

"Don't believe what?"

"That this has worked out. That I'm with you."

"I wouldn't have it any other way."

Riven took one of her hands from Lux's back and moved it to her head, slowly stroking her hair. They remained that way for a couple minutes, both just enjoying the closeness with one another.

The harsh sound of an alarm made both women jump. Riven furrowed her brow in worry and looked around, wondering what was wrong. Lux giggled.

"That means the food's ready, silly," she said, shaking her head at Riven.

Riven blushed in embarrassment, but was cut off again before she could reply. "Go get us some bowls and sit down. I'll bring over the food in a minute."

Riven nodded and Lux extracted herself from her embrace. Turning around, Riven checked the few cabinets in the kitchen, which were mounted against the wall that divided the kitchen and living area. Inside the one mounted against the corner, she found the bowls and took two of them. Repeating her earlier process, she looked through the draws beneath the counter that were in front of her. Finding the silver wear, she took two spoons as well. Walking out into the living room, she set the two bowls and spoons down.

Returning again to the kitchen, Riven grabbed a couple glasses out of the cabinet she had noticed them in before.

"Do you want something to drink, Lux?" She asked.

"I'll have umm… I guess I'll just have water."

Nodding to herself, Riven proceeded to check the fridge for what drinks Lux had, which were not many. She saw a gallon of milk, a gallon of water, and a carton of orange juice. Riven had always liked milk, it had been something she was able to drink as a child other than water, and had grown to love it over time. Taking out the gallon of milk, she poured a glass for herself then pouring some water for Lux, she took the drinks to the table. She sat down on the couch and leaned back, closing her eyes and inhaling the heavenly smell that permeated the house. Oh how hungry she was.

Soon Lux walked in with the pot of food she had been nursing and set it on the table over a hot pad. She took a spoon full and set it in her bowl before handing the serving spoon over to Riven, who followed suit. Both women sat in silence, too hungry to do anything other than eat. Lux's appetite was filled long before Riven's, who took the chance to take a second and third spoon of food from the pot. Eventually her appetite was sates as well, and she leaned back into the couch.

Riven noticed Lux move to clean the dishes from the table and sat up to help her, taking her dish into the kitchen. The small space didn't have room for a dishwasher and so the two had to manually wash their dishes. This was no special chore for either, who were used to doing so from their time spent in the military.

When the task was said and done, and the table wiped, Riven again reclined on the couch. She yawned and closed her eyes, nestling her head back into the couch as if to go to sleep. She was interrupted however as a hand touched her face and another grabbed her hand, tugging lightly as if to get her to follow. She opened her eyes and saw Lux motioning to her bedroom.

"It is nine o'clock, we might as well go to sleep for the night," she said, gently tugging on Riven's hand again.

Riven complied, standing up and walking into Lux's bedroom. She took off her boots and sat on Lux's bed, sitting against the head board. Lux walked to her dresser and took out some piece of clothing then went into her bathroom to change. Lux's bed was pretty large, just as every other bed in the Institute of War. Riven decided to slide down under the covers and occupied a very small portion of the right side of the bed.

When Lux emerged from the bathroom she wore a loose fitting nightgown. She raised her eyebrow and smirked at Riven.

"What?" Said Riven.

"You aren't seriously going to sleep in your normal clothes are you?" Said Lux in an amused tone.

Riven shrugged. "And what else would I sleep in?"

"Well this is the only nightgown I have, but you could just sleep in your underwear. We are both women." Lux kept her eyebrows raised the entire time, and smiled toward the end.

Riven wore a mortified expression on her face.

"Oh come on silly, it's not that big of a deal," said Lux with an exasperated expression on her face and her hands on her hips.

Riven gulped, a blush rising in her cheeks. "Alright, if you insist." She rose from the bed and walked into the bathroom, removing her clothes and checking to make sure her wrappings were intact underneath. She used the restroom and took a deep breath before opening the door to find Lux lying on her side in the middle of the bed. *Her eyes are closed,* she thought to herself. Riven let out a breath she didn't know she was holding.

She silently stepped over to the bed and slowly slid under the covers, careful not to disturb Lux. Settling in to her little part of the bed, she let her body relax and settle into the bed. A few seconds later, Lux turned over and harrumphed.

"Well you're no fun at all," complained Lux, who had turned around to face the back of Riven. Riven felt a hand grasp her shoulder and pull it down, turning her around so that she was facing Lux. A smile spread across Lux's face at Riven's bewildered look, and she wrapped her arms around the larger woman, snuggling into her chest once more.

Riven stiffened for a few seconds at the sudden move, but then slowly wrapped her arms around Lux as well. She leaned her head down and placed her head against Lux's, inhaling her earthy scent.

"I love you," she purred quietly into the other woman's hair, surprising herself.

Lux pushed herself closer, snuggling even further into the comfort of Riven's body.

"I love you too, Riven."

**~~~0~~~**

**A/N: Well, I hope you guys enjoyed. Not much real plot development here, but it does put a few small ideas that will be used later into play. I tried to make this chapter longer to make up for the very short first chapter, which is really mostly a prelude now in my opinion. I only read through this once, so sorry for any glaring errors!**

**As always, please review. I would love to hear what you think so that I can get better!**

**Termhn**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Little bit shorter than last chapter, I decided to split this here instead of continuing into Riven's point of view. Mostly filler, and next chapter probably will be mostly too. Chapter five will definitely have some good action though. I hope you all enjoy!**

* * *

Lux woke to the sun in her eyes and someone's bare skin on her cheek. Opening her eyes, she found herself snuggled into Riven's chest, who had her arms wrapped around the smaller woman. Lux smiled and closed her eyes, not wanting to rise from her current position.

However, fate did not seem to want her to go back to sleep. A short, crisp knock on the door opened Lux's eyes once again. She frowned, wondering who would need to see her at this time of the day. Reluctantly rising out of her bed, she rubbed her eyes and yawned. She stepped into her living room and walked around the couch towards the door.

She grasped the handle and turned it, pulling the door open to reveal her brother, Garen.

"Garen," she said and frowned once more, "what do you want?"

"That's no way to treat your own brother," came the playful reply. Lux's frown only deepened.

"Oh come on sister, am I really that bad?"

Lux's silence answered that well enough. Garen sighed and his perky stance slouched a little bit.

"Well, whatever you think of me, I'm still your brother. Anyway," his face brightened once more, "I came to tell you that we are heading home for a little while, Mom wants to see us and it's the Prince's birthday." Garen smiled wide at his sister.

"B-b... but I-I..." Lux sighed and her head drooped a little. "I'm guessing there's no way to convince Mom to let me stay, eh?"

"Absolutely not, little sister." Garen beamed. He was enjoying this.

"Alright, well…" Lux sighed again, "when do we leave?"

"In half an hour, I hope you have time to get ready!" With that, Garen smiled once more and strode off down the hallway, leaving Lux standing in her doorway gaping at where he had been. Lux shut her mouth and growled. _He could have at least given me some warning,_ she thought.

She angrily walked into her bedroom to begin packing for her trip. She had no idea how her brother expected her to be ready in only half an hour, but she didn't really have any choice other than to try. She noticed the sleeping form of Riven and her anger re-doubled. _*Whenever I start to settle into anything, someone has to ruin it,*_ she thought bitterly.

She turned her attention to her dresser where she pulled out the few sets of clothing she had possession of. Her wardrobe was not extensive, but she did not need it to be. It consisted mostly of t-shirts, tank-tops, shorts, and skirts. Her favorite colors were the Demacian gold as well as a forest green and black, which were the colors of most of her clothes. She pulled her suitcase out from under her bed and shoved all the clothing into it.

She then rose and collected her various pieces of armor and the skin-tight jumpsuit she wore underneath. Looking under her bed, she found the case she used to keep these garments on trips such as this. It was a large, abnormally shaped case that had a hard frame with leather on the outside and a padded interior with slots for each piece of armor. Fitting her armor into the correct slots, she closed the case and set it aside with her suitcase, then walked into the bathroom to get herself ready.

Closing the door behind her, she turned on the shower and stripped out of her nightgown and underclothes. She shivered as the cool air caressed her bare body before stepping into the warmth of the shower. She grabbed her soap and lathered it onto her body, starting with her arms and working her way down to her chest then legs. She rinsed herself off and then worked shampoo into her hair, kneading away at the knots as quickly as she could with as little pain as possible.

When all the knots had been worked out, she rinsed out her hair and forced herself to turn off the shower. She didn't have much time left. Stepping out of the shower, she grabbed a towel that was hanging on the same bar as the shower curtain and wrapped it around herself. She grabbed another towel from a bar to her left and wrapped her hair up in an attempt to dry it as much as possible.

She emerged from the bathroom and noticed Riven was still sleeping, facing away from her. She quietly strode to the dresser and pulled out her "dress uniform," which consisted of a blue and white, knee-length dress. The dress did not have shoulder straps, instead opting to hold itself up by perching atop her breasts. It was mainly white, but it had a blue strip around her waist which was embroidered with yellow figures meant to depict the sun.

Checking once more to make sure that Riven was sleeping, she dropped her towel and quickly stepped into her dress. She pulled it up over her chest and secured it in the back, making sure everything sat how it should. Satisfied, she walked back into the bathroom to do her hair.

Lux decided that she wanted to put her hair up in a bun today, it would be easier and she wouldn't have her brother yelling at her for being out of "uniform." She rolled her eyes to herself, thinking about her past experiences with that. Garen had always been a stickler for rules, and she technically was not supposed to have hair that reached past her shoulders in uniform, but she had rarely cared to follow that rule. Subsequently, Garen had yelled at her often with various results. Sometimes she would cave and put her hair up, but others she couldn't be bothered. Today she felt that it would be a good idea anyway.

Unwrapping her hair from the confines of the towel, she first gathered it on the top of her head, wrapping a hair band around it near her head to create a sort of pony tail. Then, she took an old sock that she had previously cut the toe off of, as she often used this trick when she needed to put her hair up. She rolled the sock over itself to create a sort of torus shape and then slid that over her ponytail about half way down. She then started to wrap her hair around the sock and tuck it into itself. As she kept the process up, a donut-shaped bun started to form on the top of her head. When she was done, she tilted her head down so she could inspect the top in the mirror. She fixed a few stray hairs then nodded to herself, satisfied with the result.

She walked back into her bedroom and was reminded of her last dilemma, how she would let Riven know. She walked over to the bed and sat down on it in front of riven, her legs hanging over the side. She debated waking her, but decided against it because Riven looked so peaceful in her sleep. She brushed a few hairs away from Riven's face and stood up again, walking into her living room. She walked to a little desk that sat in the back corner of the room near the kitchen. She withdrew a sheet of paper and began to write.

_Riven,_  
_My presence had been requested in Demacia because the Prince's birthday is fast approaching and my mother wants to see my brother and I. I'm sorry I couldn't let you know face-to-face, but my brother just notified me about twenty minutes ago, and I didn't want to wake you from your sleep. You looked so… angelic. Anyway, you're welcome to anything in my room if you'd like, though I don't really know why you would… the League provides for us pretty well. Have fun in the League while I'm away!_

_Love,_  
_Luxanna_

She folded the piece of paper in half, writing "Riven" on the front. Setting her pen down, she stood and walked into her bedroom once more. She set the letter down in front of Riven on the bed so that she wouldn't miss it when she woke. Satisfied, she strode across the room to gather her luggage, hoisting the armor case over her shoulder with some difficulty and then grabbing the handle of her suitcase with the other hand.

Letting herself out of her room, she walked down the familiar hallways of the Institute of war. She continued straight through the Demacian hall into the main hall which had pathways that led to each of the different bunking areas. One of the hallways led to the entrance hall, which is where she was headed. She turned left into this tunnel and emerged into the entrance hall, a grand thing with a welcome desk and statues of some of the famous summoners scattered around. Not paying this much attention, she strode out the front door, seeing her caravan waiting for her.

Garen smiled when he saw her and motioned for her to put her luggage into a trailer. She did so, hoisting each one in turn into the back of it. She then walked to the carriage she had seen her brother disappear into and stepped in. The carriage was modest, with benches on either side, a small table in the center, and a bed on the walls adjacent to the benches. Everything was either white or the light brown of wood. She sat down on one of the benches as her brother greeted her.

"Sister, I'm glad to see you've made it, and in uniform no less." He smiled and continued, "Make yourself comfortable, the journey is going to take a few days."

Lux only nodded and then rose, moving herself from the bench to one of the beds. She lowered herself into it and was surprised to see it was actually quite comfortable, if not quite as much as her bed in the Institue. As she laid her head on the pillow, the carriage started to roll. Lux's last thought was of Riven's peaceful form sleeping on her bed as she was slowly lulled to sleep by the carriage's constant bumping. A smile crossed her lips as she fell asleep once again.


	4. Update from the Author

Hello everyone, I really appreciate all of you who have read this story so far. I hope you've enjoyed reading it, I know I've enjoyed writing it! However, I want to post this update to inform all of you that no, I haven't disappeared even if I don't update this story very often. This is for two reasons:

1. School is starting for me in about a week

2. I've been enjoying writing other one-shots and stuff and I'm going to continue doing that which will put this on a longer update schedule

If you want me to write faster, you can always review! Seriously, good reviews are what gives me motivation to keep going, and if you do so I will put more focus on writing because feedback is like my fuel so-to-speak.

So yeah. Hopefully I didn't disappoint any of you too much with posting a not-a-chapter, but I felt like I had to post a little update.

Thanks again for reading!

Termhn


	5. Chapter 4

Riven woke to find it was already midday. She slapped herself mentally for allowing herself to sleep in so long; her years on the road had taught her to wake at sunrise, but it seemed she had been letting herself slip up. As she came to consciousness, she felt the lack of a warm body next to her. Frowning, she opened her eyes and confirmed that Lux was no longer next to her. *Not that much of a surprise, it is midday already after all,* she thought to herself.

Yawning, she sat up and was about to gather her clothes and leave when something on the bed caught her eye. Turning towards it, she discovered a piece of paper with her name written on it.

_Riven,_  
_My presence had been requested in Demacia because the Prince's birthday is fast approaching and my mother wants to see my brother and I. I'm sorry I couldn't let you know face-to-face, but my brother just notified me about twenty minutes ago, and I didn't want to wake you from your sleep. You looked so... angelic. Anyway, you're welcome to anything in my room if you'd like, though I don't really know why you would... the League provides for us pretty well. Have fun in the League while I'm away!_

_Love,_  
_Luxanna_

Riven dressed herself and placed the letter in her pocket. _If Lux is going to Demacia, then so am I,_ she thought to herself. _Perhaps I can brighten her up, I can tell she doesn't like her family much._

New task in mind, she strode purposefully to her room and packed her meager belongings into her backpack. She had travelled many a dat in her exile with just her current possessions, scavenging coin and food whenever she came to a town. Throwing the backpack over her shoulder, she felt the familiar weight settle onto her shoulders and walked out of her room and towards the entrance of the Institute of War.

Stepping into the hot summer air, she started her trek to Demacia.

**~0~**

The first thee days of her journey had passed without incident. She had set a grueling pace, one that most wouldn't be able to keep, but one that was very familiar to her. She easily fell back into her nomadic routine; it felt calming, even, to be back on the road. She rose with the sun each morning and fell asleep as it left the sky in the night, keeping her grueling march up while it was light out.

The fourth day she reached her first major milestone, a farming town about half way between the Institute of War and Demacia. She arrived in the evening and decided to stay the night in an inn. A soft bed sounded very good to her abused body. Her thighs felt like all hell had broken loose inside them and her back had started to feel stiff as well. She would have to adjust the straps of her pack; if worn properly, it should not stress the back at all, rather depositing all the weight onto her legs which could take the abuse much better.

As she entered the inn, she was too exhausted to notice a few young man's heads turn towards her. She strode up to the desk and spoke to the innkeeper.

"I'd like to buy a room for the night."

The innkeepers brows furrowed as she seemed to be contemplating something. "Say, you look familiar, would I know you from somewhere?"

Riven was not used to being in the public spotlight as a champion of the League, and responded as such. "I don't believe so... Perhaps someone that looked similar passed through before, I don't believe I've passed through this town in the past."

"No, no... I had thought you looked like some celebrity, but... I can't place it. No matter. You said you'd like to buy a room for the night?"

Riven nodded her head.

The innkeeper reached behind her and grabbed a key off a rack of hooks, offering it to Riven. "You can pay tomorrow morning, we will keep a tab on food and drinks for you as well. Your room is number 15, right up the stairs." With that, the innkeeper smiled and turned, striding off towards the kitchen.

Riven took the key and began walking towards the stairs, surveying her surroundings. She caught one man staring at her and glared back at him, a cool look on her face. Undeterred, he kept looking her straight in the eyes. Riven found that odd, her glare would turn any normal man away. This one, it seemed, was only led on.

Riven inspected the man, her eyes moving to the dark cowboy hat that distinguished him from the crowd. Her gaze then traveled downward, trying to inspect his facial features. It was hard to see his face in the shade of the brim, but she could make out a set of twinkling eyes as well as a small smile playing across his lips. She snarled at him quickly before turning away, deciding to teach the man a lesson if he became a problem later.

She walked up the stairs and was presented with a short hallway with doorways on both sides. They were staggered on each side and had about twenty feet separating them. The hall was dimly lit by lamps on each side of the hallway, staggered in between the doorways. The light was almost identical to the magefire torches the institute used, except that the flame is not real in those lamps.

She strode down to her door, number fifteen, and unlocked it. As she stopped through the door she observed her surroundings. The room was modest, containing a fairly large bed in the middle of the opposite wall, a couch against the wall to her left, a dresser to the right of the bed on the back wall, and an open door leading to a bathroom on the left. She strode over to the bed and dumped her pack onto it, extracting a new set of clothes. Setting the clothes aside, she set her pack down on the floor next to the couch. She walked over to the bathroom and took a shower, washing all the dirt and grime from her body. After her shower she dried off and put on the new set of clothes she had set out earlier before putting her hair back up into its customary bun. Feeling refreshed, she walked out of her room and towards the dining area, her stomach growling to evidence her hunger.

As she walked down the stairs and into the dining area she inspected the room more closely. It was a fairly large room with tables spaced out every few feet. The kitchen and bar was at her left while the front door was on the far side of the room on the right wall. The right wall had large windows that showed the road, and beyond that, the forest outside. The room was pretty dark, giving off a bar-like feel, the only lighting being small chandeliers hanging from the ceiling at regular intervals. Riven walked to the bar, taking a seat on one of the stools. A bartender walked over and moved to help her.

"Can I get you anything, miss?"

"Yes… do you have some sort of specialty dish that you serve?" Riven knew that at many of these kinds of inns, the cook would have some sort of specialty dish that was almost always delicious.

The bartender smiled. "You're in luck, miss. Our specialty is an amazing beef stew served with some toasted bread on the side. How does that sound?"

Riven's stomach growled, sending its consent. She felt like she could eat a horse. "That sounds amazing, I'll have that. Oh, also do you brew your own beer here?"

The bartender's smile widened. "We do have a brew of our own, as a matter of fact. Would you like a glass of that?"

Riven's lips tugged up into a smile. "That would be excellent."

The bartender moved off to give her order to the cook before taking a large glass of a rack above him and filling it to the brim with a dark mahogany liquid. He strode back over and set the glass in front of Riven, who took it an held it reverently. It had been a long time since she had had a proper home brew. Tipping the glass, Riven felt the beer slide into her mouth. She turned it around, savoring the taste before letting it slip down her throat. She could tell the brew was very heavy just from the color, but her taste had put it even heavier than she expected. Just as she liked it.

Riven smiled to herself and continued sipping the beer until a steaming bowl was set in front of her as well as a large piece of toast, of a kind she hadn't seen before. It was thick and white, the outsides lightly browned, but still soft to the touch.

"Most people like to dip the bread in the stew and then eat it," the bartender commented before striding off into the kitchen.

Curious, Riven did as he said, it into the stew and letting it soak up some of the juices before biting the end off. She was pleasantly surprised by the mix of flavors that combined in her mouth. The stew was very sweet and a little bit spicy while the bread helped the two flavors meld together.

She quickly devoured the rest of the stew and sat back in her stool a little, stretching her back and arms. Her appetite was sated, but she still had some of her beer to finish. As she picked up the glass and tilted it back against her lips, she noticed someone slip into the stool next to her. She closed her eyes and savored the liquid on her tongue before turning to face the man that had sat next to her. It was the same man that had been staring at her earlier.

"What's a pretty lady like yourself doing here?"

**A/N: Yeah, so… not the best ending/cliffhanger ever but I haven't decided how exactly I want this to go down (about that if you have an idea how you want this to go down please put it in a review, the guy is TF if you didn't figure it out already) and I wanted to get a chapter out. This one mostly filler still, there should be some good action next chapter I think. As always, reviews = write faster ;) But… I'm gonna work on my other stories now that I've gotten out a chapter for this one.**


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